Hyderabad-based Syntizen to tap new markets digitally

Hyderabad: Syntizen, a Hyderabad-based digital identity solutions company, is now looking to tap opportunities in multiple States and overseas markets for its identity authentication solutions. The company, which has video KYC, facial matching and liveness check, and Aadhaar-based identity solutions, can help governments extend citizen services electronically and also aid players in the BFSI segment. The company is looking to raise a new round of funds and add about 50 people to its research team, said Siddharth Kukalapalli, Syntizen co-founder and Chief Business Officer.

The company was started in 2014-15 when digital identity and Aadhaar ecosystem were in early days. Its Aadhaar-based identity authentication is used by JNTU and affiliated colleges, Rythu Bandhu scheme, Social Welfare and Stamps and Registration departments and others in Telangana. It also has presence in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Establishing the identity of the beneficiaries helps the government to ensure that subsidies and services go to the intended.

“Fingerprint scans were stopped due to the pandemic. We worked on new ways to ascertain identity of citizens through facial matching and liveness check tools,” he said, adding that these were now part of the FEST module of the RTA Department, through which Telangana wants to offer about 33 services (excluding the driving licence and vehicle registration) electronically without the citizens needing to visit the transport offices.

“FEST is seeing about 8,000 to 10,000 transactions per day. Only the driving licence or vehicle number is asked. We ask them to click a selfie and we compare this with a photo in the database. In the process, we also check the liveness (to tell if the person is alive or if a scanned photo or a photo of a photo is being used). Once the identity is ascertained, the various services he/she is eligible for will be shown,” he told Telangana Today.

In December last, the company won a tender from Odisha, which sought a solution for issuing life certificates without the elderly having to visit the offices. “We approached Odisha with our video KYC solution. We incorporated what we did in the Telangana Transport Department. We are using the Aadhaar number of pensioners. An OTP is sent and they are asked to join a video call. In the backend, trained agents from Odisha’s Pension Department ask some questions. A photo is captured during the video call. This is checked for facial matching and liveness. If the photo matches, we generate a live certificate immediately. All they need is a smartphone or an internet connected system with a camera,” he said, adding that it is looking to offer its solutions in more States.

“Indonesia, Dubai and South Africa have a system that is similar to our Aadhaar. We will try to explore them,” he said.

 

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